Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall -A
Narrated by Will Watt - A+

This new recording of Waiting for the Flood is over twice as long as the original mainly due to the addition of a second novella. Taken together the two novellas tell one completely satisfying story. While Waiting for the Flood was originally written to stand alone, Chasing the Light will mean more if you’ve read WftF first, and reading CtL gives a satisfying look at the couple from WftF several years down the road.

Waiting for the Flood is about Edwin navigating the death of a vision and learning to hope again. Edwin and Marius were together for ten years and Edwin thought they were both happy, until one day Marius left with no real explanation as to why. Edwin is stuck in a sort of limbo, existing as "the person Marius left" and unable to move forward from his grief or the resulting insecurities. He has a speech impediment that makes him feel awkward and self-conscious, which is a further barrier to making new friends and moving on with a new life. When a potentially serious storm approaches the area Edwin meets Adam, a civil engineer working to help people on Edwin's street prepare for an expected flood. As Adam shows interest in Edwin, Edwin has to decide whether to stay stuck or move on.

Marius is physically absent in WftF but is still an important character. Chasing the Light gives us Marius’s story, beginning a year or so after the events in WftF. Marius arrives at his parent’s Christmas Eve get-together only to find Edwin and Adam already there. Stung, Marius reacts with cutting remarks and promptly leaves the party, walking aimlessly in the cold and dark while thinking about his life. Here we begin to see that Marius isn’t as together as people seem to think. He seems as bound by the past as Edwin had been in WftF, only he’s reacted by building a wall around himself. On this night while walking in the near blackness of a riverside towpath deep in thought, Marius slips, loses his phone in the river and badly injures his ankle. A local narrowboat owner, Leo, hears his yells and comes to help.

Both novellas are quiet, introspective, and atmospheric. The language is absolutely beautiful and poignant, and vividly describes both the physical world (the house Edwin and Marius bought in WftF, and the narrowboat in CtL) and the internal conflicts of Edwin and Marius. Edwin loves his house, but it’s also become a sort of monument to what he lost. Hall opens each chapter in WftF with a description of part of the house and often relates it to life when Marius lived there. Edwin needs to move past being the one left behind and move forward to being the one that is cherished. Adam is a wonderful character who’s gentle attempts to get Edwin’s attention and his non judgemental understanding finally help Edwin realize he can move on.

Marius is angry and scared and unable to do the one thing he loves, his art. He dons sarcasm and indifference like armor, keeping everyone at arm's length. He’s very difficult to like for a large part of CtL, being purposefully rude and aloof. His forced stay on Leo’s boat gives Marius some time to reflect about his life, and about his oddly growing attachment to Leo. Leo, like Adam in WftF, is a nonreactive person, taking most of Marius’s jabs without retaliating. But unlike Adam, Leo has his own difficult background and will only go so far to placate Marius. When he lays out what he has to offer, he doesn’t beg or compromise, willing to let Marius walk away.

My favorite part of both novellas is the scene where Edwin and Marius finally talk. It’s a little awkward, but incredibly beautiful and moving. It allows both men to truly move on from the past. I also love how Marius’s mother plays an important role in each novella by being a model of what unconditional love is: not perfect but always genuine.

I was eager to listen to the rereleased audiobook of Waiting for the Flood even though I already own the older version. A big part of the draw was Will Watt in the narrator’s chair. After his excellent narration of 10 Things That Never Happened, I’ve been hoping for more so I jumped at the chance to get to this audiobook. Both WftF and CtL are introspective, character stories, and Watt’s languid and gentle voice works so well. His delivery for both Edwin and Marius is a little sad at times, perfectly matching both Edwin and Marius’s feelings of resignation about how their lives are going. Adam and Leo have strong distinctive character voices that illuminate their personalities, and the secondary characters are all equally well voiced.

The genius in these novellas is Alexis Hall’s use of language. I can’t emphasize enough how perfect each word feels, how much those words are like brushes painting a picture of the physical surroundings and the inner thoughts of the main characters. Along with Will Watt’s almost understated delivery, each paragraph seems powerful and necessary. I highly recommend this audiobook and I know it will feature as one of my Best Audiobooks of 2024.

*The last hour of the audiobook contains two bonus recipes, one for Edwin’s elderberry wine and one for Marius’s mother’s pierogies, plus the short story, Aftermath.

Reviewed at Audiogals.net

This story is about people growing apart, coming together, and finding themselves. It follows two main male characters after their break up and how they find love, confidence, and understanding after their worlds have been shattered. Just because people change doesn't mean we stop loving them.

I loved how well the the author, Alexis Hall, developed each character and made them so real, I fell in love with each character, especially Marius's mother, she gives Midwest mom vibes. The writing was a little more flowery and poetic than I typically enjoy, but it fits the narrative.

The narrator, Will Watt, did a wonderful job catching the personality and speaking patterns of the different characters. I truly cannot recommend this narrator enough, such an amazing job!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

This book consists of two different stories. I really enjoyed Edwin’s story, Waiting for the Flood, and his journey to accepting love again. He’s really sweet and deserves the world. The second story included was Chasing the Light, which I didn’t enjoy as much. I don’t like Marius that much, but I do like how he was able to find happiness and what that means for him.

1. The book:
I have adored Waiting for the Flood since I first read it as a novella, and fell fiercely and protectively in love with the sad and gentle disaster that was Edwin. I did not expect—although I should have—to also fall in love with Marius. To be fair, he is a pretty dramatic disaster himself. But their stories, together and apart, were not a disaster at all.

2. The narration:
Alexis Hall’s words and Will Watts’ voice are hands-down the perfect pairing. Will has masterfully delivered the full emotional range of these characters, and from his mouth the already-poetic descriptions of archival ephemera and the colors of the sky gave me chills. But my favorite was the portrayals of “I’m definitely not crying” that definitely didn’t make me cry on more than one occasion.

Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

I’ve only read boyfriend material by this author but I was not impressed with this book

I didn’t find my self caring about the characters or relationships at all and overall I was disappointed

The writing was good tho

Alexis Hall is one of my favorite romance authors, so I was very excited when I was approved for this arc. And I wasn't disappointed.

This contains two novellas: Waiting for the Flood and Chasing the Light, set in the same universe but focusing on different couples.

Waiting for the Flood follows Edwin, who is still grieving the end of his long-term relationship, which he'd thought would last forever. A flood warning in his neighborhood leads to a meeting with Adam, a civil engineer who helps him come out of his shell. Chasing the Light, instead, follows Marius, Edwin's ex-boyfriend, who is, let's face it, kind of an asshole, as well as his own worst enemy. He injuries his ankle and loses his phone on Christmas Eve, and is rescued by Leo, a mysterious man who lives on a boat.

Both novellas were lovely, but Chasing the Light was the definite stand-out for me. Hall is fantastic at writing characters that are actually kind of awful and making them sympathetic, and this was there in full force. I also really liked the way the story deals with the relationship between Marius and Edwin.

I listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator did an excellent job.

I really enjoyed both of these stories, but be aware that this is two novellas. It's tricky, because the book blurb only mentions the first of the two, and when the stories swapped, I got very confused. Thought I had missed something big in the narration, but nope, just a story swap. Both sides deal with the a recently divorced couple. In the first you see one of them finding love and safety again, and the second shows the other partner getting over himself for probably the first time ever. The first couple are lovey sunshine people who deserve all the love in the world. The second is a grumpy/sunshine pairing where you get to watch the walls slowly come down.

This author is very hit or miss for me, mostly they are misses. I could not get into this like I wanted to.

Alexis Hall’s work is always phenomenal. This book is poetic and really winds into way into your heart. Just like any other book in the series, I highly recommend!

Waiting for the flood is a terribly cute and adorable romance. I loved the characters and alexis hall totally managed to write them out well for the length of the story. I really enjoyed the novella! also please give me more adam because he genuinely seems like the nicest guy in the world.

It is so very interesting to read about Marius, who was seen as the bad guy in waiting for the flood, but it simply turns out theres much more to the man than others can see. His character is somehow loveable and hateable at the same time, and well thought out. Our dearest love interest, who is supposed to show two sides as well, (the bad background one, and the good one right now) is made absolutely perfect (yes ill take him). It is so good to follow marius' character development!

i really like the narrator, he does so well in distinguishing who says what, and his voice is very pleasant.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the eAudiobook ARC! Waiting for the Flood is the second book from Alexis Hall's Spires series, but can be read on its own. Waiting for the Flood follows Edwin and Marius, who used to be a couple, but have since seen the end of their relationship. The first part of the story (Waiting for the Flood) follows Edwin as a flood is approaching and he must take action to save his home. He ends up meeting Adam from the Environment Agency, and the two slowly begin to develop a relationship. This edition also includes Marius's story (Chasing the Light) as he discovers Edwin's new relationship and begins the process of moving forward with a new relationship of his own. The narration is expertly done by Will Watt.

Heat Factor: Waiting and Chasing have different on page presentations, but they’re similar in that they’re heavily focused on personal grief.
Character Chemistry: To be frank, it’s hard to understand why the love interests put up with the narrators, but it feels AMAZING that they do.
Plot: The past haunts the present, and it takes a lot of doing to accept a new happiness.
Overall: I have no words.

So, I listened to the rerecording of Glitterland and I was like, “Man, that was great.” And then I saw the rerecording of Waiting for the Flood on NetGalley, and I was like, “I think I’ll go for it.” Even though I recall feeling like the book was on the sad side (and very short, actually), and I wasn’t super psyched about reading the new story about Marius, the guy who dumped Edwin of Waiting.

Also, this book is narrated by Will Watt, who I am pretty sure I have never listened to before, and I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t narrated by Nicholas Boulton (like Glitterland), but, y’all… Will Watt was the right casting. What a beautiful voice for a couple of really broken men. 10/10 would recommend putting in your ear holes.

Okay. Onward!

Waiting for the Flood begins with Edwin coming home to the house he bought with his ex, believing that they would have their forever and build that home together. It’s been three years, and he’s made it his home now, but he’s still very much in a rut, feeling very abandoned, and he can’t yet see that Marius was not his person. Naturally, Marius leaving is made worse by the fact that he didn’t do anything wrong, he simply ended the relationship, so Edwin has all these feelings he wants to direct toward Marius but feels guilty doing so. Also, Marius’s mother keeps mothering Edwin. Everything is just very present for Edwin, even three years on.

Before long, news comes that they’re expecting the river to flood. (The Thames runs through Oxford, in case you didn’t know, but there are also loads of tributaries right there, which I didn’t know until I looked it up just now, so the whole getting waterlogged situation is not surprising.) Edwin goes in search of sandbags and eventually finds the emergency flood unit station thingy at the bottom/top (IDK which, but I feel like this is an important distinction to Brits?) of the street, which is where he meets Adam. Adam immediately shows his interest, but he also waits very patiently for Edwin to decide just where he’s at. And Edwin struggles. A lot.

Chasing the Light begins at a Christmas Eve party that Marius’s parents are hosting. It’s really the only reason he shows up—that family expectation around Christmas—but then Edwin and his new boyfriend are there, and Marius simply cannot, so he runs away. It’s winter, and it’s cold, and Marius runs far, and when he’s finally feeling like maybe he’s run far enough, he busts his ankle. Believing himself to be all alone in the dark on the river path, Marius has a little wallow, only to be discovered by Leo, who brings Marius onto his narrowboat (sidenote - wtf are these boats? They are so wild!) and takes care of him.

Unlike Edwin, Marius is the kind of broken that lashes out. He’s honestly dreadful. Leo senses this, though, or sees something in Marius that he connects to, and his constant gentleness (even in the face of his own unhappy past) forces Marius to crack just a little bit. He’s been holding himself together with all of his energy for years, refusing to share his deepest fear and grief with absolutely anyone, and Leo beautifully makes space for that.

While Edwin and Marius have extremely different personalities (and Marius might be a challenge for some readers, because he might be even more of an asshole than Ash in Glitterland), both characters exemplify Hall’s gift of making sympathetic a character who behaves very badly. Edwin is more standoffish, but when he hits, he hits hard, while Marius is just in a constant state of prickle—really, if you want to analyze a character who exemplifies being awful to prove that nobody wants him (or to prove who’s willing to look below the surface and want him anyway), this is an exceptional character to study—and the whole time we the readers are very clear that this is not sympathetic behavior, that the characters even know they’re not doing the right thing, but they are having such a hard time grappling with their own emotions that they can’t course correct. Hall is so good at doing this, and it feels good to read it, even when it hurts a little bit, too.

Hall’s evocative, lyrical prose is extremely evident in these stories (this series). He’s just so good at words. But, of course, that kind of prose won’t be for everyone. Both narratives are also rooted in grief, so there’s a constant undercurrent of melancholy (hence the tag), even when everything is looking up at the end. Someone else I read referred to this as a “second chance” and that is an apt descriptor, because while the stories are not second chance romances as such—both love interests for these men are completely new to them—they are a second chance at love and happiness, and that is where all of the uplifting energy of the romance exists. It’s glorious, and Hall is very much in his element.

I came to this book knowing I’d enjoyed Waiting for the Flood alright and curious about the new audiobook, but I left feeling wholehearted. Like. Goddamn that was good.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audio arc. I thought the story was very interesting and lovely. I appreciate the introspection of looking back in order to move forward. The characters, as with every Alexis Hall book I’ve had the pleasure of consuming, were fleshed out and fully realized. I think it takes supreme talent to be able to round out a character the way that Hall does. While I enjoyed the story, I do however think that it could be much shorter, which could be the fault of the narration. I found myself zoning out at times because the narrator was sort of monotone. I did enjoy the book and perhaps reading a physical copy would have suited me better in this instance.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This book was archived before I got a chance to read it. So I can't give this a full recommendation

Absolutely fantastic installment in to the Spires world from Alexis Hall. I thoroughly enjoyed the additional content this new release gave with followups on Edwin and Adam as well as Marius and Leo. I love how Hall can write such interesting characters and, with a simply plot and heavy conversation, deliver beautiful introspective thoughts and characters with so much depth. They feel so real in their individual struggles with self worth and love and seeing them find themselves and ones who care for them as they are is always very enjoyable for me. Really really loved this one!

The new Sourcebook re-release of Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall as a perfect duet that includes the third Spires novella, Chasing the Light. These two novellas tell the two sided story of a broken couple where each person separate from the relationship finds themselves and the HEA they need.

Waiting for the Flood

As the floodwaters rise, Edwin Tully works to keep his home, the only thing he has from his broken relationship, above the water. Lonely and uncomfortable with new people, Edwin is surprised when he feels a spark drawing him to the friendly and helpful Environment Agency worker, Adam Dacre. This story is moody, emotional and atmospheric, while still exuding hope, as Adam helps Edwin way away the hurt of his past and look forward to something new. Full of beautiful word phrasing- language study that parallels Edwin’s characters language interests, this is a story you can continually read something new from it.

Chasing the Light
Darker and more nihilistic, Chasing the Light follows Marius (Edwin’s ex) as he chases his former glory and inspiration through a dark landscape. He’s lost his muse and find himself going from bed to bed without any true joy… until a holiday disaster, and his families prompt him to escape in haste, injuring himself. Stuck and not able to run anymore, he is forced to accept the care and attention from his rescuer, Leo. Away from everything he’s used to and immersed in a lifestyle unlike his own, he finds new inspiration and reignite his spark. Very opposites attract!

The waiting for the flood doesn’t really emphasize Marius, except for his absence, and what that has done to Edwin, chasing the light really links the two of these stories together and shows what Edwin was Damarius in their relationship, and how they grew together and apart, and how they have become more Within their new relationships. The bonus epilogue that wraps up these two storylines, Aftermath really emphasizes this creates a cohesive mutual HEA for both couples.

🎧I I had the privilege of listening to this on audio and found that narrator Will Watt did an excellent job, creating unique voices for all four main characters that really made them their own. Both of these stories were single POV, and the narration added great dimension to this loan voice.

This is the second book in the Spires series, but these are standalone stories. Even these two stories could be read on their own, even though they are better together. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

Thanks to Sourcebook Casablanca for my finished copy and DreamWorks Audio via NetGalley for my audio review copy.

I love Alexis Hall's versatility. He can write witty British humor, over the top rom coms, and more subdued emotional romance. This one is the latter. As is typical with this author, it did take me a bit to get into the story, and it was a little weird having essentially two different books combined together, but on the whole, this was an enjoyable, sweet story. The narration was very well done on this one too.

Rating ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ .5
Spice 🌶 🌶

This audiobook was brilliantly cast and the emotion was beautifully portrayed. I loved the story of Edwin finding love after the break up of his long term relationship. The way he found such a perfect person for him in the midst of a disaster, who loved him as he is was beautiful. They were both so sweet and Adam's patience with Edwin as he worked through his grief and newly blossoming feelings was lovely.

I did find it a bit jarring to have the plot line switch to focus solely on Marius. I wanted more time with Edwin and Adam. It was a beautiful story as Marius found his own love and acceptance in the most random of situations but it felt like two different books put together.

*Edit - Okay I have now seen that it is actually multiple books together which definitely explains this*

I'm still so happy I was able to listen to this story and always love the characters that Alexis Hall writes.

Thank you NetGalley for the ALC of this book.

four stars, loved it, and recommend with no reservations, to anyone who loves a quiet, beautiful, and lovely story of a new beginning, from the ashes of an old ending.

I very much enjoyed revisiting Edwin and Adam in Waiting for the Flood. And I was delighted to finally get Marius’ story in Chasing the Light, where we get his motivation for things, even if it’s almost 4 years after their breakup. I knew he had a heart from the peek we had of him in For Real. And the Aftermath epilogue showing Edwin and Marius several months after CtL happy with their new lives was nice.

Will Watt did an excellent job with the new narration.